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Monday, June 13, 2011

New family addition...

This weekend we spent the weekend with some friends in Houston and had ourselves a hippity hoppity time. We went bowling...all 4 of us, and then the next day, hung out and got sunburned at the splash pad.

On the day we left, we stopped off at the Houston Poodle Rescue. I have been researching and thinking about getting a dog for about 3 months now and never realized this place was only 15 minutes from our friends' house. So we decided to

make an appointment and look for a new family member.

The boys had picked out a few dogs they liked online, and we just assumed we would be able to request a visit with them. Not so my friend. This place was deluxe...and they really know their stuff.

When we arrived....the hubs and I decided our next vacation would be to this shelter. It was incredible! There were tiki huts everywhere, rock fountains with beautiful pools, lush greenery. It was a definite doggie resort.

When we checked in, the staff member called the women in charge of adoptions, who quickly and briefly interviewed me by phone. She then came out to meet us and talk to our boys. She asked them if we wanted a playful and excited dog, or if we were looking for a calmer and cuddlier dog. Jansen said the latter, and I said a little Thank You prayer. She told us the rules of visiting the dogs and we all walked through the boarding building to the back. They had a big tent set up in a gated area with patio furniture and dog toys. My boys were told to wait for us there, and she took us into the shelter building.

Boy, it was loud. She talked to the caregiver and told her to find us a dog that would suit my boys' personality....and she went quickly to "Carol". Ironically, that had been Caleb's online choice. The adopter took "Carol" out to my boys without the hubs and I for a few minutes, and then came to get us. We played for about 5 minutes and then she asked us to walk "Carol" on the leash into the air conditioned family room. We stayed and played with her for another 15 minutes or so, and she won us over.

We filled out the application to adopt and they told us they would groom her up a little and make her look more presentable. So we went down the street for lunch and came back to pick her up. She looked so pretty!

Jansen has named her Tatum Foster Powell (Foster is my maiden name and Caleb's middle name) and she was so good on the hour and a half drive home. We immediately started to house train her and then realized the crate we got her to sleep in is just a little too small for her. She can curl up in there, but it doesn't seem all that comfortable for overnight. (We are headed to Petsmart to take it back and get something just a little bigger).

So we had to rig up a system to keep her somewhat confined until we can get a bigger crate. I put down a blanket and squared her in using our luggage. She whined for about a minute and then fell asleep. I took her out to potty when the hubs left for work at 5am and then again at about 8am and she has been going consistently. No accidents eve

n overnight!

Tatum only wants to follow me around everywhere and then sleep for a while. She is the ideal lapdog...only barked once when the doorbell rang, and seems to be very smart. She can sit on command almost every time now. I look forward to getting her trained to come, sit, lay down, roll over, walk beside me on a leash, and to get her used to her new name and all our family's names. She is a super dog...4 years old and was surrendered to the rescue as a stray. How someone couldn't love this little one is beyond me. I am excited that we can give her a better life and that she can enrich ours.

We are now off to Petsmart to buy the essentials...new crate, shampoo, brush, dog food, treats, and febreze allergen reducer :) She has her first vet appointment on Wednesday to get her heart worm and flea medication.